Flashlight attachment for clipboards



March 1967 L. LEVY ETAL FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR CLIPBOARDS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21. 1965 FIG?) FIGZ ATTORNEYS March 14, 1967 LEVY ETAL I 3,309,514

FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR CLIPBOARDS Filed Oct. 21, 1965 2 sheets sheet 2 1H it a I R N I t l\ I a I R W I I a 91.1 9.

g 351: I l y 3 H I h N H o INVENTORS Go a m a 7*? LOUIS LEVY g ROGER L. VAN DEN HOUT ATTORNEYS United States Patent Oflfl ce 3,369,514 Patented Mar. 14, 1967 3,309,514 FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR CLIPBOARDS Louis Levy, 1 Lafayette Plaisance, Detroit, Mich. 48207, and Roger L. Van Den Hout, Colonial Parkway, Pittsford, N.Y. 14534 Filed Oct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 500,111 4 Claims. (Cl. 240-64) This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application, S. N. 407,690, filed October 30, 1964, and entitled, Flashlight Attachment for Clipboards.

This invention relates to a flashlight attachment for clipboards.

Conventional paper clamping and supporting clipboards are frequently used in dark places, such as by meter readers, or at night, such as by gas station attendants. The user must carry a flashlight to illuminate the paper on the clipboard and the meter or other object providing data to be recorded. Thus, the user of such a conventional clipboard frequently finds it awkward and difficult to simultaneously handle the clipboard, the writing instrument and the flashlight. V

Thus, it is an object of this invention to provide a flashlight attachment for clipboards wherein a flashlight may be easily and removably secured to the clip portion of the clipboard so that the flashlight and the clipboard may be handled as a unit.

A further object of this invention is to provide a flashlight attachment for clipboards wherein the flashlight is double ended in that it shines either forwardly or rearwardly, so that it illuminates the paper upon the clipboard, or a meter or the like being read by the user of the clipboard, or both simultaneously.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description, of which the attached drawings form a part.

In these drawings;

. FIG. 1 is an elevational' view of the rear of the flashlight unit.

' FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the flashlight, mounting bracket, and clipboard components disassembled from each other.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of the mounting bracket.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the flashlight unit taken in the direction of arrows 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the flashunit.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of the flashlight.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the'clipboard 10 includes a rigid support board 12 and a clip 14 pivotally secured to the support board near its upper end. Clip 14 is resiliently biased downward against support board 12 and includes a widened lower portion arranged to clamp against a sheet or pad of paper supported on the clipboard. The above construction is typical of a conventional clipboard and forms no part of the invention herein.

The detachable mounting arrangement includes a low er bracket 16, which is slipped through the space between the underside of clip 14 and the support board 12, and an upper bracket assembly 18. The flashlight 20 is removably mounted upon the upper bracket assembly 18.

The upper bracket assembly 18 is assembled to the lower bracket 16 by means of screws 22. Upper bracket assembly 18 comprises a support pad 24 which is pierced so as to form a pair of slots 26. A spring lock 28 is riveted at 30 to pad 24. Lock 28 includes two pairs of upwardly projecting pawls 32 which extend through the pierced portions of pad 24. The purpose of this lock will be described hereinafter.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, flashlight 20 generally comprises a casing sidewall 34, a front cover plate 36, a rear cover plate 38, and a bottom plate 40. The front and rear cover plates 36 and 38 are fastened to the casing sidewall 34 by means of a pair of top screws 42 and four bottom screws 44 which pass upwardly through bottom plate 40 and flange alonge the lower portion of the front and rear cover plates into the lower portion of casing sidewall 34. A pair of L-shaped guides 46, each containing a pair of cutout notches 48, is formed in bottom plate 40. These guides 46 cooperate with slots 26 in pad 24 as will be described below.

A pair of conventional flashlight batteries 50 is received in sockets 52, which may be riveted to the inner face of rear cover plate 38. Batteries 50 may be re placed through battery openings 54 in front cover plate 36. Openings 54 are then closed by means of battery caps 56 which are provided with bayonet prongs 58. These prongs cooperate with notches 60 formed in flange 62 surrounding openings 54, and thereby secure caps 56 to cover plate 36.

The front and rear bulb assemblies are identical and comprise a lens 64 seated in a bezel 66 which is assembled to the respective cover plates by a bayonet type of connection. This connection comprises prongs 68 which lock into slots 70 formed in flanges 72 surrounding each of the lens openings. 7

Bulb 74 seats in a plastic socket 76 having a metallic contact cup 78. A metallic contact ring 80 surrounds socket 76 and is fastened to reflector 82 by means of a bayonet type configuration. Contact ring 80 establishes an electrical contact with the flange of bulb 74.

The electrical circuit, illustrated diagrammatically in FIG. 6, is established in the following manner. Batteries 5t] are oriented in opposite directions as they are inserted into the flashlight, :so that a series connection between the two of them is provided by front cover 36. A single wire runs from one of the batteriesto front switch 92 and then to front base contact 90. The circuit to the front light is completed through cup 78, bulb 74, front contact ring 80, front side contact 84 and a wire passing to the other battery. The circuit for the rear light is similar, but employs switch 94 and contacts 88 and 86.

It can be seen from FIG. 4 that the front and rear bulb assemblies lie in contact with each other, with the lower assembly partially supporting the upper assembly. This configuration provides additional internal rigidity and support for the flashlight.

In operation, the user first secures the mounting bracket assembly comprising elements 16 and 18 to the clip 14 of clipboard 10. The flashlight 20 is then aligned so that the L-shaped guides 46 may be slidably inserted into slots 26 of pad 24. As the flashlight is slid onto pad 24, the spring lock 28 is manually depressed so that pawls 32 lie below the surface of pad 24 and out of the path of guides 46. Once the flashlight is seated on pad 24, spring lock 28 may be released, thus allowing pawls 32 to pass upward through the openings in pad 24 and into notches 48 in guides 46. In this way, flashlight 20 is securely locked to clipboard 10.

To remove the flashlight, the user simply depresses spring lock 28 and slides the flashlight assembly 20 out of slots 26.

In addition to providing convenient illumination of both the subject being observed and of the pad on the clipboard, the unique construction of this flashlight achieves an extremely compact arrangement. The overall length of the flashlight has been shortened by reason of the lateral displacement of the batteries from each other. Also contributing to a shortened overall length is the longitudinal overlap of the two bulb assemblies.

This invention may be further developed within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly, it is desired that the foregoing description be read as merely illustrative of a single operative embodiment of the invention, and not in a strictly limited sense.

We new claim:

1. A flashlight attachment for clipboards, comprisa casing comprising a base and front and rear end covers, the length of said casing between said front and rear end covers being just suflicient to accommodate the length of an ordinary flashlight battery;

means for mounting within said casing two flashlight batteries, said batteries being axially aligned with the length of said casing and disposed abreast of each other;

a first bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said front end cover;

a second bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said rear end cover; I

said first and second bulbs being arranged to shine in opposite directions;

electrical circuit means including switch means operatively connecting said batteries and said bulbs;

and mounting means for detachably securing said base of the flashlight to the clip of a conventional clipboard.

2. The flashlight attachment of claim 1, wherein the aXes of said first and second bulb assemblies are laterally displaced from each other and wherein the socket ends of said bulb assemblies longitudinally overlap and abut each other.

3. A flashlight attachment for clipboards, comprising:

a casing comprising a base and front and rear end covers, said casing being generally prismatic in shape with said end covers each being shaped generally as an isosceles triangle and with the base of each of said triangles corresponding to the base of said casing;

the length of said casing between said front and rear end covers being just suficient to accommodate the length of an ordinary flashlight battery;

two batteries mounted within said casing, said batteries being parallel, axially aligned with the length of said casing, and laterally displaced from each other at opposite vertices of said casing base;

a first bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said front end cover;

a second bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said rear end cove-r;

said first and second bulb assemblies being arranged to shine in opposite directions;

the axes of said first and second bulb assemblies being laterally displaced from each other, the socket ends of said bulb assemblies longitudinally overlap and abut each other;

electrical circuit means including switch means operatively connecting said batteries and said bulbs;

and mounting means for detachably securing said base of the flashlight to the clip of a conventional clipboard.

4. A combination clipboard and flashlight comprising:

a support board having a flattened sheet metal clip hingedly secured thereto at one end thereof for clamping paper under the clip and against the board;

a flashlight casing comprising a base and front and rear end covers, the length of said casing between said front and rear end covers being just sufiicient to accommodate the length of an ordinary flashlight battery;

means for mounting within said casing two flashlight batteries, said batteries being axially aligned with the length of said casing and disposed abreast of each other;

a first bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said front end cover;

a second bulb, socket, and reflector assembly mounted in said rear end cover;

said first and second bulbs being arranged to shine in opposite directions;

electrical circuit means including switch means operatively connecting said batteries and said bulbs;

a bracket means secured upon the exposed surface of the clip and engaged with cooperating means formed upon said flashlight casing for attaching said fiash light casing to the clip, with said flashlight casing being arranged upon the exposed surface of the clip and axially transverse to the clip;

wherein one of the lights is arranged to shine forwardly of said board end, whilethe other of said lights thereby shines along the board surface to illuminate the paper clamped thereto.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,807,501 5/1931 Alexander 24052.5 X 2,329,556 9/1943 Raabe 246--6.4 2,753,443 7/1956 Grohsgal 24010.63 2,769,895 11/1956 Boord 240-525 X 2,955,194 10/1960 Clyne 240-64 3,218,448 11/1965 Cala.

NORTON ANSHER, Primary Examiner.

C. C. LOGAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A FLASHLIGHT ATTACHMENT FOR CLIPBOARDS, COMPRISING: A CASING COMPRISING A BASE AND FRONT AND REAR END COVERS, THE LENGTH OF SAID CASING BETWEEN SAID FRONT AND REAR END COVERS BEING JUST SUFFICIENT TO ACCOMMODATE THE LENGTH OF AN ORDINARY FLASHLIGHT BATTERY; MEANS FOR MOUNTING WITHIN SAID CASING TWO FLASHLIGHT BATTERIES, SAID BATTERIES BEING AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH THE LENGTH OF SAID CASING AND DISPOSED ABREAST OF EACH OTHER; A FIRST BULB, SOCKET, AND REFLECTOR ASSEMBLY MOUNTED IN SAID FRONT END COVER; A SECOND BULB, SOCKET, AND REFLECTOR ASSEMBLY MOUNTED IN SAID REAR END COVER; 